This is really cool and I'm a little surprised we haven't seen this sooner, but this seems like a real risky move for Enermax. There are a lot of people out there who buy tremendously overkill PSUs, unaware that they're being ripped off. If someone got one of these units and noticed that their PC under full load is only using 400W, that'd be a real slap in the face to that consumer. I feel like this unit would get a lot of returns as a result. But, this is a unit for enthusiasts, and a legit enthusiast would buy one of these units because he/she needs it.

Yes done before but on a crap PSU. This however, a quality unit I would consider buying if I had the need for it. Yet still as many cases today have a PSU cut out and glass side panels etc. that wattometer could be better off on the side of the unit.

Yes done before but on a crap PSU. This however, a quality unit I would consider buying if I had the need for it. Yet still as many cases today have a PSU cut out and windows etc. that wattometer could be better off on the side of the unit.

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I personally have a generic AC watt meter. They cost $15 and are pretty accurate and user-friendly, and you can plug whatever you want into them. However, I do see the appeal to built-in meters on PSUs, too.

I personally have a generic AC watt meter. They cost $15 and are pretty accurate and user-friendly, and you can plug whatever you want into them. However, I do see the appeal to built-in meters on PSUs, too.

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Yup indeed that's a lot cheaper way of doing the same thing. This unit seems mostly aimed at enthusiasts/benchers, it probably speeds things up a bit having an "integrated" watt meter in the test bench so you don't have to hassle with a separate meter all the time.

They put it on the back?....I don't look at the back of my computer I look at the front or the side glass.

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As stated by GroinShooter, it's probably meant for benchers or test platforms. People like Hilbert could put some good use to this.

But what you said did get me to think:
What if the PSU has an internal USB connection to read the wattage? By making it more advanced, you could read the wattages of each rail - that could be so informative to some people, and would give the unit a lot more of an edge than just using a wall adapter. Imagine being able to accurately measure how much power your CPU or GPU draws, or how many watts all your USB devices consume.

But what you said did get me to think:
What if the PSU has an internal USB connection to read the wattage? By making it more advanced, you could read the wattages of each rail - that could be so informative to some people, and would give the unit a lot more of an edge than just using a wall adapter. Imagine being able to accurately measure how much power your CPU or GPU draws, or how many watts all your USB devices consume.

Damn... now I'm mad something like this doesn't exist.

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Yea!....it could even run on bluetooth or have a dongle!.....we should patent this Bro!...Fast!

But what you said did get me to think:
What if the PSU has an internal USB connection to read the wattage? By making it more advanced, you could read the wattages of each rail - that could be so informative to some people, and would give the unit a lot more of an edge than just using a wall adapter. Imagine being able to accurately measure how much power your CPU or GPU draws, or how many watts all your USB devices consume.

This is really cool and I'm a little surprised we haven't seen this sooner, but this seems like a real risky move for Enermax. There are a lot of people out there who buy tremendously overkill PSUs, unaware that they're being ripped off. If someone got one of these units and noticed that their PC under full load is only using 400W, that'd be a real slap in the face to that consumer. I feel like this unit would get a lot of returns as a result. But, this is a unit for enthusiasts, and a legit enthusiast would buy one of these units because he/she needs it.

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I don't think people buying above what they need is Enermax's problem.They aren't being ripped off they simply didn't do their research.

I don't think people buying above what they need is Enermax's problem.They aren't being ripped off they simply didn't do their research.

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I don't think it'll really matter. Most people probably don't know (or don't care) what the wattage is, as long as the PC runs well and is within their budget. If anything, it'll give them peace of mind, knowing that they have plenty of power and can afford to upgrade to something more powerful if they wish.

A PSU like this would be very useful for enthusiasts and testers. I'm currently using my UPS to gauge wattage, but having it on the PSU itself would be more accurate.

There are plenty of wattage meters out there which plug into the wall socket and the computer into it, and they can do more than just show the number of W.
They can record total consumption over period of time, peak current, show voltage as well, min-max, and so on.Some even have an USB connection for some monitoring software, so you can graph the consumption in the computer...

What's the most interesting thing ? They are REALLY CHEAP.
I bought mine for just 20Euro...

This on the PSU and with the readout in that position is really completely useless feature... as it's likely that anyone doing benching/testing has one of meters already.

There are plenty of wattage meters out there which plug into the wall socket and the computer into it, and they can do more than just show the number of W.
They can record total consumption over period of time, peak current, show voltage as well, min-max, and so on.Some even have an USB connection for some monitoring software, so you can graph the consumption in the computer...

What's the most interesting thing ? They are REALLY CHEAP.
I bought mine for just 20Euro...

This on the PSU and with the readout in that position is really completely useless feature... as it's likely that anyone doing benching/testing has one of meters already.

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I have a wall meter that does the things you mentioned - having it calculate the cost of operating the device has been a useful metric. It doesn't have USB, but it was also $15 including shipping (so about 12.50 Euros).

The USB meter I was talking about would be for built-in models, and would measure things like how many watts you're drawing per rail. So you get to see how much you're drawing from 3.3v, 5v, each 12v rail, and 5vsb (nobody cares about -12v so that wouldn't be worth measuring). When it comes to PC enthusiasts, measuring total system wattage isn't as useful as knowing for sure how much individual parts may consume.